Catamaran
by Writer Monkey
Summary: Who knew Rick Castle owned a boat? Detective Kate Beckett sure didn't...
1. Castle Owns A Boat?

Alright, so I had this idea pop into my head as I was actually out on a boat the other day. It's going to be a few chapters, and eventually grow into more mature reading I suppose, just to give fair warning. My disclaimer will always be the same for Castle, that I don't own anything, and if I did, Beckett would jump Castle's bones and make us fangirls squee like crazy. Anyway, off to the story at hand. Reviews are always welcome, and the more reviews, the more incentive I have to write and update quicker. I'm trying to stay as in character as I can, but if it slips out for a bit, don't shoot me. Enjoy!

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Rick Castle noticed things.

He was paid to be attentive.

Although lately, his observation focused solely on the intricacies of one Detective Kate Beckett. When he should be doing errands or running for school board, he was sitting beside Kate's desk, watching her intently from behind his newspaper of the day.

He noticed that when she blinked a little too hard, she would get a little dimple at the end of her nose. He noticed how her left front tooth jutted out just a fraction of an inch further than her right. The thing Rick Castle loved the most, he thought, was the few wispy hairs that would lay across her forehead on windy days. Today, he noticed, she ticks the handle of her coffee mug when she's upset.

"Detective Beckett", Castle starts out after moments of silence causing Kate to shift in her seat ever so slightly. Refocusing only her gaze from the paperwork at hand, she sighs and stammers out "what." with that steely look she had become known for.

"Do you know what today is?"

"No, Castle. What is today" she asks, in a dead-pan tone.

"Don't get too excited now, Detective. Try to contain that enthusiasm- I can't take it all in one dose!"

Silence falls between the two for a minute.

"Was there a point to your interruption, or did you just do it because you want to annoy me?"

"Puh!" he says, slightly hitting his forehead "Silly me!"

Ryan and Esposito chuckle softly from the first desk over. Turning around to face them, Kate pleads "Don't encourage him."

Standing up from her desk, Kate walks over to the break room to fill up her empty mug. Hoping that with the lack of her presence, he would forget the probable inane topic he would use to pester her and prevent her from doing the work she needed to be doing. The steaming liquid drips into her cup as Rick Castle walks briskly into the room. Plan foiled. Stopping directly behind her, he speaks over her shoulder.

"Have you ever been on a boat, Detective?"

"What now?" She strains her neck to look him in the face.

"A boat. You know, a flotation device that conveys people across long stretches of water, often used for the occasional pleasure ride?"

"I know what a boat is, Castle. Why are you asking me this?"

"Well, as you know, today is National Boat Launching day-"

"There's an actual _day _for that?"

"Not really, but today is when they're putting _my _boat into the water."

"You. Own a boat?" Kate scoffs out incredulously, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to her right leg.

"A sail boat to be precise," he turns to her and notices her stance. "and why is that so hard to believe?"

"I don't know, Castle. You just don't seem like the lets-have-fun-in-nature kind of guy." She says with a growing smile on her face.

"Oh, there are many things you've yet to discover about me, Detective Beckett. I'm quite multi-faceted." His grin grows bigger as he bounces once on the balls of his feet, causing Detective Beckett to roll her eyes and let out a sigh.

"Did you just want to tell me you had a boat? Was that the entire point of this conversations?" Beckett grabs her mug and takes giant strides back to her awaiting chair, not yet cold from her absence.

"No," he says, swiftly sitting back down, propping his elbow on the desk. "I was looking to invite you out for a ride. Alexis has NHS afterschool-"

"NHS?" Esposito pipes up from behind Beckett.

"National Honors Society." Ryan pipes in. Nodding, Castle continues

"and mother doesn't like what the sea-air does to her hair. So, really, you'd be doing me a favor by coming with me."

"I have work that I need to do, Castle. Not everybody can do what they like on a whim."

"Aw, come on Detective. I'm sure the Captain wouldn't mind."

"No, Castle." She wasn't going to make it easy on him. "I really have things that I need to get done today."

"So bring it with you. Although, I might need your help. My sailing skills are a bit rusty…"

Her eyes widen a fraction of an inch "You're telling me you don't even know how to sail, yet you still have a boat?"

"Of course I know how to sail a boat, silly. I just need someone to sail it down to the well at the Yacht Club, and you may not know, but sailing is a two person job. I wouldn't be able to do it by myself, so you'd really be helping me out here…"

"And why do you think I would want to help you out?" She says taking a pen in her hand and looking down at her paperwork, underlining something twice.

"Because the little girl in you is dying to go for a ride." He says, smiling, putting his feet up on her desk. Looking up, she swats his feet off of her desk and looks him in the eye.

"Is there any way I am going to succeed in convincing you that I don't want to go on your boat, Castle?"

"Mmm. I'm having a hard time thinking so."

The Captain takes this opportunity to walk past the bull pen. Without stopping, he makes eye contact with Beckett and tells her to "Take the rest of the day off and make writer boy happy."

"But sir-" is all she can get out before Castle jumps out of his chair and claps twice, loudly, in front of her face. "The chariot awaits."

"Castle. It's a Ford."


	2. Sailing For Dummies

Alright, I know this is a bit shorter than the first chapter, but it felt like a natural place to stop. Once again, I own nothing. If I did, Castle and Beckett would do the deed and fill our fangirling hearts with joy. As always, comments and reviews are welcome and do encourage me to update quicker. I hope you enjoy the next installment!

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"Castle, turn the music down. I can hardly hear myself think." Beckett shouts over the loud music streaming through the speakers, the bass ruffling her pant leg. Turing the music down, he turns his head slightly but still keeps his eyes forward watching the road. A cheeky smile forms on his lips as he says with child-like vigor "Whatcha thinkin' about?"

"Just about how much extra I'll be getting for my Christmas bonus this year…" she says, adjusting the safety belt across her chest to rest against her shoulder.

"Christmas bonus? Is that where all of our hard earned tax money goes, Detective?"

"Nope," she turns her head to face him, "some of it goes to certain cappuccino machines that a some people deem necessary." Cocking her head slightly to the side she raises one eyebrow.

"oh, ho ho, Detective Beckett. You know you love that frothy goodness…"

Kate turns her gaze back to the road not dignifying him with a response. Castle turns the music back up and soon they are at their destination. The gravel drive makes a crackling noise under the tires as the car bumps to a halt. The boatyard is rather small, but is filled with many boats of different sizes, most of them covered with white or blue tarps still on from winter storage.

"You ever been to a boat yard, Detective?" Castle says, stepping out of the car and grabbing an overnight back from the back seat of the car.

"I can't say that I have, Castle." She says, closing the door and resting her lingering hand on the edge of the car.

"It's really exciting. There are so many machines and tools around…it makes me feel so powerfully masculine."

As they begin to make their way toward the docks, Kate chimes in. "Are you sure that your frothy dalliances and late-night games of adult laser tag with teenagers don't get in the way of that?"

Castle shoots his gaze quickly to her, laughing "Fun-ny!" placing emphasis on the two syllables. Kate smiles in triumph. They walk another minute to the end of the dock as they come upon Castle's boat. The boat itself is easily 100 ft. long and has three giant masts, billowing sails hanging from the poles. The two hulls rest half-sunken in the dark blue water. The steering wheel Kate can only describe as something you'd see on a pirate ship, old and wooden with many protruding handles to grab at.

"Here we are, my woman of the sea."

"Castle, this is your _boat_?" Kate's eyes brim as she stares at the contraption, not allowing Castle to see the shock on her face.

"Yeah. It's called a Catamaran. Alexis and I spent a few months here after divorce number one. We needed a place to stay until we found an apartment in the city."

"Castle, this is…I can't…It's a…It's _huge_."

"Three bedrooms to be exact. Hey. You know me. When I do things, I like to do them big and with class."

"Big? Yes. Class? Debatable."

"Ouch!" Castle brushes his knuckles against his shirt. Beckett whips around and gives him a suspicious look.

"Are you sure you know how to drive this thing?" Turning back around, she marvels at the boat, itching to step inside and check it out.

"Why must you always doubt me, Detective?" He asks, a mock hurt look appearing on his face.

"I've learned that there's always been a reason to, Castle."

Shrugging the bag off his shoulder, Castle reaches in and digs around for a minute. He begins talking as he is still bent over. "I know bits and pieces, but what I don't know-" he stands up, revealing in his hand an _Idiot's Guide to Sailing, _ "I can look for in here."

Crossing her arms, she lets out an exasperated sigh. "This better be a joke, Castle. A very unfunny joke."

He laughs as he taunts her. "I'm just playin with ya Detective, I'm just playyyyin!"

Hopping on the boat, he offers his hand out to her "Come on. You know you want to"

Standing still on the dock contemplating her options, she comes to the decision she needs no persuasion with. Against her better judgment, she grabs a hold of his hand as he gently maneuvers her across the gap.


	3. Aye, Aye Captain

_Holy long hiatus batman. Sorry for leaving this story for so long. To be completely honest, I had no idea where I wanted to go with it (I only have a vague idea now) and I'd lost inspiration to write, well, anything. I don't know what happened or why it happened, but I'm back into the writing mode. Thanks a bunch mother nature for giving us a snow day so I could stay up late and write._

_This story is just so fun I had to continue – plus the number of favorites and alerts it got gave me a good idea of just how many people wanted me to continue EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T REVIEW. Don't think you can get away unnoticed that easily._

_Anyway, on with the show (finally). Hope you enjoy!_

_XX_

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As soon as her foot hits the deck she considers that this might not be as bad as it could be. Clearly Castle genuinely needed the help (even if she didn't know what in the world she'd be helping him _do_), and it was a good excuse to get out of the precinct for the afternoon. After all, hadn't Castle just been telling her to go wild for once and let her hair down? What better way to do that than by having the wind sailing through it?

She looks around in amazement, spotting the floor to ceiling cherry wood bookshelf lining one interior wall. The matching set of late-Georgian chairs sit on either side of a studded leather sofa, both of which, Kate can tell, are worth more than 4 months rent _a piece_. She walks over toward the wall and runs her fingers gently over the back of one of the chairs, stopping in front of the giant wall of books. Shocked out of her daze she scoffs.

"Castle, this is amazing and all, but did you really have to fill the _entire _bookshelf with your own books?" She turns slightly and eyes him over her shoulder, a quirk to her lip.

"I suppose I didn't, but I have to say –" He walks up behind her. His front lightly touching her back, he whispers in her ear, "It sure helps to impress the ladies." Before the heat radiating from his body can distract her, he steps away. Kicking back into business mode, she rolls her eyes and swats her arm back, hitting him in the shoulder. Stepping a few paces away, she turns back to look at him, an expectant look on her face. "Well? What happened to getting that tour?"

Walking to the front helm of the boat, he sets his bag down lightly on the leather Captain's bench. Kate spots the very advanced looking machinery and technology gracing the ledge behind the wheel. Rubbing her hand exasperatedly over her forehead, she lets out an annoyed breath.

"Geez, Castle. How do you expect us to work these things, let alone know what they are for?"

"Sail boats, for the most part, are easy. But, unlike what the name implies, for this little excursion we're going on we won't put the sails up. That takes way too much time and effort when we can get to the same place with the use of an engine." Taking a beat, he stops. "Although, the Spinnaker does look awfully beautiful in the late-afternoon sun…"

He spots Kate staring at him as if he has two heads.

"Spinnaker? Now you've gotta be pulling my leg. Tell me that's a name you've made up and not some lame attempt at rivaling 'whirling dervish' at uniqueness."

"Whirling dervish. Man, those guy have _got _to get dizzy at some point. I mean, all they do is stand there and twirl! If I did that I know I wouldn't be able to walk straight for a week!" Smiling, he continues. "You know, I bet at least one of them has fallen off the stage. Someone's bound to have caught it on tape…" Digging in his pocket he whips out his iPhone.

"Castle" she barks, "Focus. The tour." Snapping her fingers rapidly, "we gotta get moving."

"Ah, yes. The tour. I see you're ready to catch a gander before we take this fine specimen of a lady out on the open seas." Stepping over to a stairway that leads down to several bedrooms he turns to her. "Have you ever slept on a boat before, Detective?"

"No, Castle. I don't believe I have." Her hand grips the gold plated banister as the stairs wind in a spiral. "Anything to write home about?"

"You have no idea. The slight rocking of the boat lulls you into the most exceptional of sleeps." They enter one room, obviously the stateroom, and he jumps on the bed. The Tiffany lamps perched on matching bedside tables are brought to life with the flick of a switch. The mirrored wall behind the bed shows the reflection of a small wet bar in the corner, situated next to a giant flat screen TV and a framed print of an Ansel Adams photograph. Wiggling his eyebrows in an (almost hyperbolic) suggestive manner, he cracks a grin. "That mirror is quite kinky, isn't it? Care to take her for a spin?"

Rolling her eyes, she starts walking out of the room. Turning her head to talk over her shoulder she barks out an order. "Come on, Castle. We haven't got all day. I don't want to have to be stuck navigating this behemoth with you in the middle of the Hudson at night."

After a quick tour of the rooms below deck, they return to the main floor. Reaching the front helm again, he rummages around in his bag. He begins speaking while his hands fiddle to find what they're looking for.

"First things first. You're my first mate so you'll be needing this."

Beckett rolls her eyes and crosses her arms across her chest. "First mate?" She scoffs, "You know what? I don't even _want_ to know."

He gets a twinkle in his eye as he finds what he is looking for, pulling out a Captains hat and placing it on her head.

"My, my Detective. Do you look good in uniform or what? I can only imagine what you would look like in a set of Navy Blues. Short shorts, anchor tattoo on your hip, white button down that's just _slightly _too small in the bust…"

She turns her body to fully face him. Her expression unreadable as she stares at him, eyes closing into slits as she studies him closely. A beat goes by as Castle starts to shift on his feet. "If you're trying to intimidate me, it's working."

"I've learned that with you silence is key." She lets her words hang in the air, eyes still locked with his. You can cut the tension with a knife while the steely gaze softens as her eyes crinkle into a smile. Turning around, she takes in the grand room again.

"Why haven't you mentioned this before, Castle? I'm sure a man with an ego the size of yours would be blabbering on about the grand parties you've hosted on here."

"Just never came up I suppose. I haven't exactly put it in the water for a few years. Kind of forgot about the fact that you need to pay in order to keep a well, and whoops, it disappears just like that. And do you _know _how hard it is to find a well for a 100 footer in New York City that hasn't already been taken? It's harder finding a heterosexual woman in the crowd at a rodeo!"

Fighting the grin that's threatening to spread across her face, he looks in her eyes. Sauntering up closely to her, he speaks in a low tone.

"Wait a minute. Are you hinting at an invite once it's docked? This where you want to spend your next birthday?" Her eyes flicker to his lips, watching as his tongue darts out to wet them. She knew this isn't a good place she's heading, but damned if she didn't speak before she thought. She should know by now that speaking without thinking is like shooting without aiming. Things just have a tendency to go terribly wrong. Why is she starting to get that feeling?

"Never. I know you. You don't do small. I like small. Small is…satisfying"

The grin that quirks his lips is an indicator to quickly change the subject before he can-

"Well, Detective. Small is not something I've been associated with before…"

-say something stupid. Her cheeks flush the palest of pinks as she digs the nails of her middle and ring fingers into her palm. It's a technique she'd picked up in her school days on a lesson about Polygraph tests. It caused a distraction and stopped the heart from racing. Darting her eyes quickly away, she spots a bag of garish left-over party supplies and gives him a shifty look.

"Why am I 99% certain Elton John has made an appearance at one of your parties?"

Castle looks at her with a hurt expression. "I'll have you know it wasn't Elton John. It was David Bowie, and for your information, it was a wild night." Pointing to an area in front of the couch, "You see that stain on the carpet over there? Courtney Love had an…accident…"

"Oh. No. Way." Beckett laughs at his contorted face. "You're telling me you had Courtney Love throw up on your carpet? Oh, that's rich."

"You see, I'm in a very illustrious club now. Only New York City's best and brightest get the distinction of hiring a deep cleaner to wash every inch of their place because Courtney Love declared it a 'Treasure Trove' and wouldn't leave."

Both pause, taking in the scene. The momentary lull in conversation allows Beckett to get back on track.

"Alright. I'm not wearing this hat. Take it. Let's get this over with." She shoves the hat back into his hands. Leading her back to the front, he gives her a quick once-over of the necessary gadgets.

"This here is the speedometer. This is to show how deep the water is. And this –" He lays on the horn, startling Kate. "is the horn. Alright, you think you got it?"

Giving him a salute, she stands at attention and gives him an overly sarcastic, "Aye, aye, Captain."

Without a beat, Castle chimes in. "Ooooh, who lives in a pineapple under the sea?"

Hook, line, and sinker.

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_Review please? Purty please with sugar on top? Comments, suggestions, flames, favorite parts. Anything. I love to see what I'm doing well and what I'm failing miserably with._


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